A Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) is generally an electronic system designed to monitor the air pressure inside pneumatic tires on automobiles, trucks, airplane undercarriages, motorcycles, and other vehicles. The system is also sometimes referred to as a Tire Pressure Indication System (TPIS). These systems report real time tire pressure information to the driver of the vehicle, either via a gauge, an electronic display, or a simple low pressure warning light.
Although first incorporated in automobiles, TPMS's are now popular features for motorcycles. Although numerous sensor configurations for various types of vehicles are known, direct sensing of pneumatic pressure is preferred over indirect techniques, particularly for motorcycles. Direct sensor TPMS's employ physical pressure sensors inside each tire, and a means of processing and sending information obtained by each sensor associated with a tire to the vehicle's instrument cluster. In order to transfer data from a rotating wheel, direct sensor TPMS's may use a radio frequency (RF) communication channel.
The TPMS must be installed and tested in the motorcycle manufacturing environment. A typical process is generally as follows. The TPMS sensors are attached to the wheel during the wheel and tire assembly process. The wheels are then attached to the vehicle. This is the first point at which the TPMS can be clearly associated with the vehicle. In the case of battery powered RF systems, it is at this assembly stage that RF antennas are used to extract the unique identification addresses of the TPMS sensors. These addresses, and their associated wheel on the vehicle are downloaded to the vehicle management unit or other controller. This enables warnings to be associated with low tire pressure.
More specifically for multi-mode sensors, activation of a tire pressure sensor monitoring system incorporated in a motorcycle typically involves a series of operations. First, sensors installed on each wheel of the bike must be initiated or otherwise activated from a “sleep” mode. Most OEM sensor suppliers place sensors in a power-saving sleep mode prior to shipment or inventory storage. The sensors are initiated or otherwise activated and their mode changed from “sleep” to “test.” Once in “test” mode, the identification address or ID of each sensor is registered with the motorcycle receiver or controller. In another series of operations, verification that the TPMS and sensors are working properly is conducted. Verification is typically performed at least one hour and up to one day or more after initiation and registration of the sensors. During the verification operation(s), if an operator determines that the system is operating correctly, then the sensors are placed into a battery-conserving “park” mode.
Although current methods for activating a motorcycle TPMS are satisfactory, significant operator involvement is required. This, as will be appreciated, results in increased costs and assembly time. Accordingly, a need exists for an improved method of activating and verifying a TPMS.